Howard County police have charged a man with driving under the influence in an August crash in which a police officer was injured.
Rodney Darnell Harris Jr., 31, of Baltimore, was charged this week with DUI, driving without a license and failure to change lanes for a stopped emergency vehicle.
Officer Joseph Gallina, a 22-year veteran, was conducting a traffic stop around 11 a.m. Aug. 5 on the right shoulder of Route 100 in Ellicott City. His emergency lights were activated and he was inside his vehicle when a Cadillac Escalade driven by Harris left the road and struck the rear of the patrol car, police said.
Gallina was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Howard County General Hospital and was later released. Harris was taken to Shock Trauma and was later released.
Recent test results confirmed that Harris was driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit, police said.
Police released a photo of the damaged patrol car (above) as a reminder to drivers to drive sober and move over or slow down for emergency vehicles, as required by law.

LAUREL, Md. —

Howard County police have charged a man with driving under the influence in an August crash in which a police officer was injured.

Rodney Darnell Harris Jr., 31, of Baltimore, was charged this week with DUI, driving without a license and failure to change lanes for a stopped emergency vehicle.

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Officer Joseph Gallina, a 22-year veteran, was conducting a traffic stop around 11 a.m. Aug. 5 on the right shoulder of Route 100 in Ellicott City. His emergency lights were activated and he was inside his vehicle when a Cadillac Escalade driven by Harris left the road and struck the rear of the patrol car, police said.

Gallina was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Howard County General Hospital and was later released. Harris was taken to Shock Trauma and was later released.

Recent test results confirmed that Harris was driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit, police said.

Police released a photo of the damaged patrol car (above) as a reminder to drivers to drive sober and move over or slow down for emergency vehicles, as required by law.